azuredeb – In the spirit of your post,…I say,…”When in Rome…”, because life and politics were different back then (but I like that they were good about taking baths). Enemies were often found in one’s own family (at least that was true in that “The Gladiator” movie). And it sounds like Nero appreciated the beauty of art,…and he sure knew how to party! And so,…in that spirit,…I tried a new wine last night,…at THE restaurant (even though my “In Violas” Merlot was retrieved,…from its container ship,…by pirates,…just “Kidding”! ),… called “Casanova Di Neri, Rosso di Montalcino” (a Brunello),…which is from the Sienna, Italy area. Sadly,…their website showed no relation to THAT Casanova (the one who signed his name,…while doing I-don’t-know-what,…in that “Domus Aurea” grotto). And I did enjoy the previous vintage of that “In Violas” Merlot,…as an interim substitute (while waiting for the pirates’ return),…which had a different “Poliziano” label,…an ink well with a feather quill,…on top of a cascading scroll with writing. That was clearly a nod to Politians’ writings,…like things he did with that Ovid poem (the one Botticelli liked, for the “Primavera” painting),…and to some based on Homer’s “The Illiad” writings, too. Doing “…as the Romans do” can be very educational,…well,…for me,…anyway!

E*:
JC – Oops,…that was WOW > Latro > ‘Curabitur In’,…but I did want to also mention that I caught JC1117?s reference to that OTHER significant Judean event,…on Tiberius’s watch,…the crucifixion of that OTHER J.C. by Pontius Pilate,…and the thief who J.C. promised he would see in Paradise.

Yes, correct. I haven’t quite gotten the Roman reference yet. I’m guessing it has to do with the origin of the bronze box. I’d just like to state that although I’m proud that my initials resemble those of Another, “the latchet of (His) shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.”

JC1117:
That message sounds en-KRYPT-ed, Bob.Maybe you and Jim Sanborn can get together and eat Fig Newtons and design a new sculpture called “Gravitate”…or something.I’m just thinking out loud.Maybe weave a mystery into it.The CIA will NEVER figure it out!

E*:
JC1117 – I sometimes use Latin GT,…like a ‘thesaurus’ (See: ‘treasure’),…to research words that I want to know in depth. I did that with ‘riled’,…which translated to mean, ‘dolebas’,…which means, ‘perverse Menalca’. That was intriguing to say the least! So then I found “Virgil: The Eclogues”,…to find out who Menalca is,…and this link:

I hope I’m not being rude by sticking my nose into your “business”. (Put in below the nose of Brown? Ewwwwww…..)

I’d like to chime in, if I may, although I feel I’ll have to dig in more deeply to find a meaning. I suppose E* can answer later if he/she wants to.

To be honest, I’m not really sure what CES means. Because the box is nearly 1000 years old it couldn’t possibly be referencing the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Could it? That IS very interesting, though! 🙂

Off the top of my head my best guess would be that CES is tied to a family name or perhaps a person’s initials. I don’t know who that might be, but if that’s the case then I’ll bet Forrest has a really good idea who that might be. He’s probably only lacking a picture of the original owner holding the box like the picture of Sitting Bull holding his Peace Pipe. (I’ll bet they had some nice cameras at the Consumer Electronics Show 1,000 years ago. A camera back then probably looked a like a paintbrush or a hammer and chisel or even piles of different colors of stones for making mosaics.)

A brief search reveals that “CES” in French translates to “HIS” in Latin or to “THESE” in English. I wish it translated to “HIS” in English because that could easily explain all the naked ladies on the box. I suppose the word “THESE” could just as easily be identifying all of “THESE” beautiful ladies carved around the bronze box.

I’ll try to dig deeper and see if I can find anything. Right now I’m trying to get ready for an urgent business trip out of town in a few days. What type of “business”, you say? Oh, …you don’t know? Well, ….let’s keep it that way! 🙂 Just kidding.

Your not being rude – I welcome your input. Does JC stand for Super Star?

I too had thought about the Electronics Show – and it would be a nice clue – but why on the box?

I then looked at CES Woods – a dandy of a gentleman – and fun to explore. He collected bronze boxes and very well could have carved initials into it. Then later on – Forrest purchased it from a museum. A possibility?

I am not sure that the box is a thousand years old. Interesting – Why do you think that?

Pretty amazing that a “key” would survive that long. Perhaps Forrest made a new lock and key – which if he did – could make just the box, a lot more valuable.

In an earlier discussion about the CE5, which I believe it appears to be rather than CES, I mentioned that the mark looks fairly fresh, and was likely a date mark for Common Era 5th century made by the curator or owner previous to Forrest. If it’s a curator’s mark for dating, it does conflict with Forrest’s and other accounts of of much later make.

Some links were previously posted regarding the bronze relief design. Forrest did comment on the design in his lengthy response to Jason’s comments on Chasechat a while back, regarding the women.

If Forrest put the mark on the chest, it’s something else. My interpretation of that I cannot put out there- a real aberration.

The key may be a reproduction made much later than the chest. It would be surprising if it was the original key, but could be.

Seriously, that’s all I can say. Why does my monitor look like it’s under water? I’m sure Skippy and Crayton would be more adept at dealing with such a thing than a scurvy, land-lover like myself.

I only wrote that the bronze box is 1000 years old because I just rounded up…or is it down?…I don’t know…I was never very good in counting class.

And just forget about asking me to read maps or memorize countries and Capitals! I sucked at geometry.

Let’s see, let me take off my shoes so I can do the math right this time…multiply by pi…carry the ONE…try to solve for x, but y?…Okay, the box is 864ish years old…or 1000 years exactly…to the late person.

JC1117: Let’s see, let me take off my shoes so I can do the math right this time…multiply by pi…carry the ONE…try to solve for x, but y?…Okay, the box is 864ish years old…or 1000 years exactly…to the late person.

JC – I just LOVE Steve Martin,…thanks for that video (and sucking on lemons would be good for your scurvy,…they had citrus in Rome, btw,… Capri is famous for them,…which is where Tiberius had a retirement home). Here are a few Latin progressions for the word “WOW”:

Did you know that Rome,…and the Tiber River,…were used in the layout for Washington D.C.? And that Tiberius Claudus Nero, Julius Caesar’s Naval Commander, was the father of the younger one with the same name? There were lots of Tiberii (is that right for the plural of Tiberius?) apparently. Like the Tiberius Alexander (no relation) that helped Titus in 70AD to destroy that Judean temple.

JC – Oops,…that was WOW > Latro > ‘Curabitur In’,…but I did want to also mention that I caught JC1117’s reference to that OTHER significant Judean event,…on Tiberius’s watch,…the crucifixion of that OTHER J.C. by Pontius Pilate,…and the thief who J.C. promised he would see in Paradise.

JC1117 – Thank you for covering that ‘CES’ rundown for me so well,…and to continue,…”C’est SES’,…which is Latin for, ‘These to be His’,… or, ‘These to be Hers’,… “What’Eva”,…which is what I always say.

I DID find an Air Force acronym for ‘CES’,…that is seldom used anymore,…’Clean Everyone’s Stuff’,…but I could not find an explanation for that. We may need to query Forrest directly for the answer to that one!

JC1117 since Forrest Fenn and his sidekicks do not chime in on this awesome blog it’s fantastic that you and others even myself chime inbetween certain topics or start new topics. So chime in JC1117…much appreciated. I enjoy reading especially when they are fun reads pertaining to The Thrill of the Chase.

Certainly, VG. Will do. I really am leaving town for a few days very soon. I’ll do my best to contribute to The Chase when I return. I’m not leaving at this moment, though. I enjoy reading and contributing very much.

Hey VG can I chime? I’m a ding dong ya know. The CE5 means this box was once part of a library of sorts. This box was a container for an important literary work. In order to find this literary work, one had to locate the correct box which was stored in section C, row E, number 5.

That message sounds en-KRYPT-ed, Bob. Maybe you and Jim Sanborn can get together and eat Fig Newtons and design a new sculpture called “Gravitate”…or something. I’m just thinking out loud. Maybe weave a mystery into it. The CIA will NEVER figure it out!

JC1117 – You are a little bit of a “brown-noser”, aren’t you? Or, are you? But,…I am actually quite impressed with your assessment,…about the family name/initials correlation. I think the line of Roman rulers,…that began with Julius Caesar (called the Julio-Claudian line),…and ended with Nero’s suicide in 68AD,…might be the key to the CES initials (hey,…that is ANOTHER great JC!). Tiberius Claudius Nero Sr. married into the Julian-Claudian line,…and his son was a general in CE5,… when Augustus Caesar ruled (and he became ruler in 14AD,…and married Livia,…Augustus’s former wife),…so that fits. Wikipedia has a nice representation of his gold Aureas coin,…with Livia on the back,…holding a WAS Scepter, btw. Did Forrest put one of those in the chest? He didn’t like the title “Imperator”,…his coin says “Pontiff Maximus”,…or something close to that.

Your “paintbrush, hammer and chisel, and mosaics” comment made me think of the wall paintings, statues, and vault mosaics in Nero Claudius Caesar’s “Domus Aurea” or “Golden House”,…which he built after the 64AD fire that devastated Pallantine Hill (not the fire that burned Rome,…when he played the violin and committed suicide,…that was in 68AD). That palace covered 1-300 acres,…depending who you reference, …and had 300 rooms (none for sleeping, no kitchens and no latrines). It was designed to be the best party place *ever*! Maybe one of those vault mosaics showed Augustus or Tiberius holding Forrest’s bronze chest??? Michaelangelo or Raphael may have known the answer to that,…because someone accidentally discovered the hidden grotto,…where the “Domus Aurea” was buried, …by falling into a cleft on Esquiline Hill,…at the end of the 15th century. Renaissance artists,…as well as people like Casanova,…let themselves down there on ropes to check it out (Casanova left his autograph,… what was HE up to,…down there,…I wonder?)

JC1117 – Correction: Tiberius Claudius Nero Sr. was married to Livia (Jr.’s mother,…who later married Augustus Caesar),…while Tiberius Claudius Nero Jr. was married to Julia the Elder (Augustus’s daughter,…who was a real handful!). I read a great historical fiction book,… many years ago,…that covered all of these intricate and ever-changing relationships,…called “The First Man in Rome” by Colleen McCullough.

Yeah, I can’t get a scene with a family racing down a long and lonesome highway (east of Omaha?) out of my head. Apparently there weren’t enough rest stops for the kids’ liking. LOL! The devil’s in the details, they say. 🙂

Very eccentric! LOL! I’m positive Forrest is laughing his head off. I have a little wager going on The Chase, myself…true story! Last November I bet a guy that I work with that if I DON’T find Forrest’s treasure by the end of June that I will pay him $1,000. But if I DO find it by then he owes me $20,000. Now, I’ve promised him a percentage of the treasure so I don’t need to worry about him not paying me because I’ll simply subtract $20,000 from his percentage BEFORE I pay him. LOL! He said he’d take that bet all day long.www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch8uCOPbH7I

Forrest did say kids have a better chance so maybe it is just chance I mean Ryan is looking under a pile of sticks that is something a kid might do. So who else believes in the kid hunt thing? FF is laughing his head off. We have got to do better folks….

JC1117:
I do need to follow your advice, Ol’ Wise Friend!I need to stay focused and stop practicing my horizontal drilling techniques…but I’ve discovered that the power of gas can really add to the two-stroke thrust…and I’m not talkin’ feijao!

JC1117:
Hagrid,I assume you don’t have a car because you always take the train through “the tunnel” to Hogwarts.
Which reminds me, if my hog has warts on it is that good or bad?I’ll assume it’s good since they named Hogwarts after the same thing.
I’m just kidding!Everyone needs a good ribbing now and then.
On second thought…not EVERYONE!
(Stepped over the line on that one I did. Yes.)

JC- (whistle blows) alright! All you kids out of the pool! Adults only!

All- wouldn’t it be way cool if Forrest used an alias and posted the correct solve to the poem and then explained his search and said it wasn’t there- but it really is … Huh?, wouldn’t that be awesome?
Nobody would go to the spot to check it out. Would they?

Bob: because it would be the best solve ever. Better than any solve ever posted times ten. He would explain everything in detail from the poem, books and every thing Forrest ever said. And everyone including Chris would say… Eureka! That’s it! And we would all jump in our cars and race to the spot with shovels.
Wouldn’t that be awesome?

After the “Ryan Experience” I will fairly confidently rest my case and defer to Stephanie on that idea, Bob. Living so far away she will NOT like the idea of others getting a head start for “Black Friday”. Right, Stephanie? (Stephanie, we have never met, but I feel very confident about your reaction to Bob’s “awesome” idea.) 🙂www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc8fqgbU_SU

I just realized that Stephanie probably doesn’t post here. She has her own blog, after all. Maybe it’s a good idea if she’s not informed that some stranger is attempting to “tell her what to do”.
I certainly wouldn’t want to give that impression. I’m not a bully.

You guys make me laugh lol. I do read here and post here sometimes for the past 6 months or so. I miss a lot of the posts though as I only use that recent comments list on the right upper side to look at posts(is there another way?).

I LOVE Bob’s idea…as long as he does it on my forum and I have changed the settings to moderate and I can figure out it’s him by some key phrase he might happen to use like…ummm….I hope you all marvel gaze at my tarry scant poem solve….

Someone came up with this great idea to nominate Forrest for this award if anyone would like to write a letter(I did 😉

JC1117 – Thank you for posting that video of that scene from “The Gladiator”,…where Russell Crow’s character is a general,…that was a great scene. I checked my timelines,…from my research into all-things-Roman-history,…and the movie did not coincide with Julius Caesar or Tiberius. I give you,…and “The Gladiator” (and Russell Crowe) the “thumbs up”,…for your contributions to “The Chase”. 🙂

I really need to study more Roman history. That Gladiator post was just dumb luck I guess. (Now for a little bait and switch) After a very brief perusal I do note that a VERY significant event occurred in the Province of Judea on Tiberius’ watch. Tiberius was sole heir to Caesar Augustus – the tax master – at the time of Augustus’ death in AD 14. Forrest mentioned “other” coins in the chest. Too crazy??? I wonder. Crazier things have happened. …Even a thief can find himself in Paradise.

Hagrid, I assume you don’t have a car because you always take the train through “the tunnel” to Hogwarts.
Which reminds me, if my hog has warts on it is that good or bad? I’ll assume it’s good since they named Hogwarts after the same thing.
I’m just kidding! Everyone needs a good ribbing now and then.
On second thought…not EVERYONE!
(Stepped over the line on that one I did. Yes.)
🙂

I do need to follow your advice, Ol’ Wise Friend! I need to stay focused and stop practicing my horizontal drilling techniques…but I’ve discovered that the power of gas can really add to the two-stroke thrust…and I’m not talkin’ feijao!

Extremists always SUCK! Especially the racist, self-righteous ones. “By their fruits ye shall know them”. Marzel is no better than Adolf. (Harsh words, I know. I don’t like to get riled up because then, in essence, I’m acting just like them.)

JC1117 – I sometimes use Latin GT,…like a ‘thesaurus’ (See: ‘treasure’),…to research words that I want to know in depth. I did that with ‘riled’,…which translated to mean, ‘dolebas’,…which means, ‘perverse Menalca’. That was intriguing to say the least! So then I found “Virgil: The Eclogues”,…to find out who Menalca is,…and this link:

Astree – Thank you for the “Did You Know” post,…it looks like 1632 was a very good year for Galileo and Heliocentrism. He certainly found “the blaze” didn’t he? And unlike Giordano Bruno,…he didn’t ‘roast’ for it. And I enjoyed reading about the Catholic celebration of Peter Cathedra,…didn’t J.C. give St. Peter that chair because he was a “rock”? That symbolism means a lot to me. Especially when I think of the poem phrase “And tarry scant with marvel gaze”,…and then, “just take the chest and go in peace.” And because,…in Archaeology,… like at the Lazaro Ruins,…A ‘scant’ can be a ‘lid’,…in Sante Fe.

jdh:
Chris,
wow, I often feel the same way after reading one of your 20 paragraph clue discoveries.

I couldn’t see his logic either but Ryan left details out to protect his area which may have helped to tie things together.

We’ll see how much crow you eat when you discover how “close” your solution is to the actual location of Mr. Fenn’s hidey hole. But I fear your write-up will be an entire book not worth reading from what I’ve seen of your intricate rabbit hole of paths to clues.

I know you’ve impressed others with your discovery of a grain of sand of a clue among 24 miles of beach, but you’re still without the chest. Think about that.

Sometimes I wonder if that kind of fame is what you want out of this hunt instead of the chest. If so, relish in it but leave your harsh criticism of others solutions to yourself. They’re willingness to put it out there is worth more, no matter how much we don’t understand of it.

jdh

their willingness to put it out there is worth more?

no. let me explain why.

if someone has a solution that is the correct one or could possibly be the correct one, putting it ‘out there’ wouldn’t make it worth more , it would only cheapen it, and allow others to take advantage of someone else’s work

if someone is putting it ‘out there’, they are doing it because they have given up on those solutions, maybe given up entirely. and any claim that the treasure was there but now there is only a dug up hole is just a desperate attempt to avoid facing the reality of a poor solve.

Putting it ‘out there’ is not worth more, putting it ‘out there’ means your solve is worth nothing. thats why a person would do it. they realize its worth nothing, and so there is no reason for them to care anymore about it.

if you really wanted to judge the legitimacy of my solve, i would have to put it ‘out there’ , but I haven’t done that. I will put part of it ‘out there’ when i find the chest, because i know some people will be curious as to how some of the poem was solved . I dont think i will say explicitly the place i found it, and what i gather from Fenn, I dont think he is going to say either when its found.

btw, whenever a searcher bolsters their argument by telling another searcher that they havent found the treasure chest yet, i always say to myself, wow , what an intelligent observation, this person obviously knows what they are talking about.

if thats all we were talking about, someone who was willing “to put it out there for the scrutiny, dissection and ridicule of those that disagree with it” … then i would agree with you, but that isnt what happened

Let’s be clear about one thing. If a searcher wishes to post their search, as many have, I think that’s great. To present their honest and enjoyable adventure of trying to find the treasure chest, please go ahead.

The issue here I believe is the way Ryan set people up, telling everyone he found it, but then again it has been taken from his spot, and on and on. He upset and annoyed a lot of people, and created an uproar about whether he should post or not, because it was supposedly the real deal, might create panic, etc. It wasn’t a simple post of a search. That’s why many were much more critical of his post than if had just been given freely up front.

A searcher’s willingness to post a search out there is fine and commendable, but unfortunately there was way too much wasteful baggage heaped up in advance on this one.
Say what you think, don’t drag people through your life.

I know Ryan posted that it was found, but later said it was gone. Than people began having disagreements on the Dal’s Blog. The way it was done was not too good. I enjoyed the story, but it was a bit crazy before that. As far as his solve….I must say, that him getting to the Home of Brown, by mixing the Yellow and Purple flowers was “interesting” Not that I am any more close to Finding THE Home of Brown Myself…..sigh…

Can you be my PR person in life Halo and fix what I say? You summed up my issue with that situation perfectly. Gypsy posted her story and it was great. I do get concerned about posting solves these days thinking there are a few who have been close…but in that situation it was exactly how you said that was my issue. There were a lot of people who just took it as I didn’t want him to post his solution and they missed my point.

Chris – When you said,…”and what I gather from Fenn, I don’t think he is going to say either when its found.”,…I looked up the GT Latin translation for ‘either’,…by breaking it down as, ‘eit her’,…which means, …’her combat vigorously’. I think that, “putting it ‘out there’ ” will always be appreciated by all (well,…by me,…anyway).

InTheChaseto: Well,…I meant ‘Google Translate’,…but I guess ‘GT’ could also mean, ‘Gran Torino’ (like that cool, fast vehicle,…that Clint Eastwood’s cool character drove,…in the movie by that name),…the translation of which, I used Latin GT to find: ‘Salvo Areaus Cen’,…which means,…’Saving Gold Center’. That made me think of the vertex of the Golden Triangle,…and the Golden Ratio ( f ),…and that the hieroglyph for Sirius (See: the God/star responsible for the annual flooding of the triangularly-shaped Nile area,…also See: the jackal-headed god Anubis, or Coyote, or Tudor-like Greyhound,…and the associated strange female behaviors,…when the ‘Dog Star’ is out and about) includes both the Golden Triangle and the * symbol. Sounds like my kind of hieroglyph! Did Anubis ever have a Was Scepter, by the way? I guess those heavy-hearted souls,…not going to see Osiris,…in the underworld,…were already going to be devoured by Ammat (the Crocodile) or Ammit (the Lioness),…so they probably ‘WAS’ n’t wary of that big stick,…but I Was kinda curious.

inTheChaseto: Oops! I spelled Duesenberg wrong (I like the Models A and X the best, btw),…sorry! Every concurrer should know how to spell that! And did you ever notice the 8 on the company logo? That is the ultimate symbol for me. And YOU got the nickname wrong,…per this astute ‘treasure’ (Wikipedia) definition excerpt:

“The origin of the American slang word “doozy” or “doozie”, meaning something excellent or powerful, is either the Duesenberg’s nickname, “Duesy”, or an older term (derived from earlier slang, “daisy”). Encarta.com[33] describes the origins of the term as unknown, and dictionary.com lists it as possibly a blend of the terms “daisy” and “Duesenberg”. Etymonline.com lists it as “1903 (adj.), 1916 (n.), perhaps an alteration of daisy, or from popular Italian actress Eleonora Duse (1859–1924). In either case, reinforced by Duesenberg, an expensive, classy make of automobile, 1920s–30s.

JC1117:
That’s what I was thinking, too, Astree!That Chris has some crazy behavior sometimes (no offense, Chris.We’re all a little crazy), but…you know…if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen!
I can’t wait to get back out there searching, but my boss is a big, fat jerk when there’s a lot of work to do.He say’s, “What are you going to do out there, anyway?It’s too cold for crying out loud!”
Sometimes I feel like…if I could just make my boss understand…with a CRICKET BAT!I mean, does he even know what’s a stake?Between Mother Nature and him…CRIKEY!
What makes it all the more maddening is the fact that I’m self-employed!

JC can you let me know when you’re leaving for the treasure so i can be sure to leave the week before

I happen to enjoy reading other individuals thought’s/solves no matter now far off base i believe them to be. One of the more interesting solves came from Dr. Quantum if anyone remembers him. I honestly believe he was onto something but as we all know one false step and it could very well throw you in another state.

every “searcher” that has ever expressed that they think highly of their own solve or they have created some stir on the blogs because of their solve and they think they have the right place and all that ….

every single one, i repeat, every single one, if and when they actually reveal what their solve is, it is just like this one, the one i just spent a long time reading (im not sure why)

i dont mean they are all similar, i mean they are all similarly disconnected, make no logical sense as a meaningful solution, and they all similarly have zero chance of being any kind of real puzzle solve

when Forrest said he wrote a poem and it has clues and leads you to the treasure, some people dont seem to be getting what that means. that shouldnt make me unhappy though, it is just something i ‘marvel’ at. it causes me to marvel, no doubt.

maybe its because i am only seeing people who reveal their solves. perhaps the ones with more viable solves would never reveal. i dont know.

some of you posting on this site who have some confidence, or maybe a lot of confidence in your solve, i hope your solve is alot more viable than this one or others that people have revealed. i hope your solves make sense as a solution to a puzzle that someone as intelligent and crafty as Forrest would actually make. because if your solve is anything like this person’s, then … don’t hate me… but honestly… save your time and your money.

i dont know what it is about The Chase, but it has brought out alot of folks who ..(and the thing is i know when we are talking about humans there are always going to be some of those, you know what i mean, but in The Chase, it has been more than just ‘some’)…

… but getting back to what i was saying, it has brought out a lot of folks who not only dont have anything that resembles any kind of puzzle/clue solution, but then they take it and say crazy stuff like, hey the treasure was there and now its gone! and they are serious and freaking out and stuff. …and im thinking, honest to betsy, what made you think there was even a 0.00001 percent chance the treasure could even possibly be there in the first place

there were some who were trying to get this person from not revealing their solution. i dont have any problem with anyone who was trying to stop it, or may have expressed an opinion to stop it. i dont think anyone should tell him not to do it, but i know some folks sincerely felt anxiety or fear from what could result.

but they only do so i think because they do not truly understand, there was nothing to fear here. the next person that comes along ‘threatening’ (if you want to call it that) to blab their whole solution, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to worry about. just tell them, ok, lets have it. thats what i told this person. i knew there was nothing there.

any person who has the correct solution, or even part of it, will NEVER blab it. they will be out trying to get the treasure.

they will never say, i give up, or hey look at me, im going to blab my solve for all of yous benefit (lol). what was it they said in that long write up i just read? something like, ‘why am giving up all this important information, why am i just giving all this away to people?’ as if they have decided to commit some selfless act because they dont care about getting the treasure anymore… (Laughing My AZZ OFF!! come on i wasnt born yesterday)

i sincerely apologize if this post was offensive to anyone. every now and then i have a compelling need to release some strong and perhaps brutally honest feelings i have, and if i dont, i feel like im going to explode. i will probably feel regret for about 2 days now that i shouldnt have posted this but here i am hitting the ‘submit’ button ….

I was equally unimpressed when I read his report, and surprised that he thought he was generously providing dangerous intel. Do you remember the song from the 70s, Saturday Night, by the Bay City Rollers? Do you know how that band thought up their name? They threw a dart at a map, and it hit on Bay City, Michigan. I think of this when I read such reports. After a cursory examination of a map and discovery of a Fennish geological characteristic or a poemy sounding name, a location is latched onto, and then everything they see confirms that they are right (I have been guilty of this myself). In this case the dart was thrown at Ponce de’ Leon hot springs.

That’s what I was thinking, too, Astree! That Chris has some crazy behavior sometimes (no offense, Chris. We’re all a little crazy), but…you know…if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen!
I can’t wait to get back out there searching, but my boss is a big, fat jerk when there’s a lot of work to do. He say’s, “What are you going to do out there, anyway? It’s too cold for crying out loud!”
Sometimes I feel like…if I could just make my boss understand…with a CRICKET BAT! I mean, does he even know what’s a stake? Between Mother Nature and him…CRIKEY!
What makes it all the more maddening is the fact that I’m self-employed!

What gets me most is how they make the clues fit their spot and solution. I have yet to hear anyone reason out the twists and turns of the poem and stick to it. They – go off into the wilderness to make it fit their idea. Two homes of Brown? Well that’s not precise. If you do not begin at the right spot – you are doomed from the beginning. Right there he should have stopped and said – does this make sense? The thing about the spot FF selected – it is hard to trace – even on a map. There are many twists and turns – I am lucky to have been there and have it in my head – memorized for all time. Oh, Yes, I too could indeed be wrong.

So, if you select a WWWH and then go looking for a “home of Brown” and it is not a rock solid solve – FOR A REASON – you are in the wrong place right there – start over. For some reason it is so hard for people to start over. Maybe it is because they have the need to be right in the first place, and smart in their own mind. My advice is let it go. What is the use of hanging onto a dead horse?

I feel for Ryan, and see his pain, but hope he continues to search in another area. I doubt he will do that, as his need to be right has overwhelmed and blinded him. I wish him well.

I agree with much of what’s been said here. It’s unlikely that I’d post something like what Chris said, because I usually let the input of others be. But since he already said it, I will say that it rings true, and my eyes were rolling in my head shaking back and forth while reading that search story. Oy vey. And with such a build-up. So no regrets.

I recently posted that many solutions become an exercise of shoehorning the poem into places that seem likely to a person.

Virtually every search does come off as a game of darts (thanks, Mike. I love “poemy sounding name”); the dart points are gathered up and sprinkled on the poem for generic connections between Forrest’s phrases and places or geographic features. And they simply must be right. Some have even written books on it, and debunked by Forrest. The human mind has an especially strong need to bring order, understanding and connections to even the most disparate group of elements. It’s natural, especially when the reward is a treasure chest.

Also, all the wrangling over what someone should or should not post has been tedious to say the least. I say follow the golden rule and post what you want, and try to stay on point. There are many other fun blogs out there for anything under the sun that is NOT about Forrest’s chase.

Chris,
wow, I often feel the same way after reading one of your 20 paragraph clue discoveries.

I couldn’t see his logic either but Ryan left details out to protect his area which may have helped to tie things together.

We’ll see how much crow you eat when you discover how “close” your solution is to the actual location of Mr. Fenn’s hidey hole. But I fear your write-up will be an entire book not worth reading from what I’ve seen of your intricate rabbit hole of paths to clues.

I know you’ve impressed others with your discovery of a grain of sand of a clue among 24 miles of beach, but you’re still without the chest. Think about that.

Sometimes I wonder if that kind of fame is what you want out of this hunt instead of the chest. If so, relish in it but leave your harsh criticism of others solutions to yourself. They’re willingness to put it out there is worth more, no matter how much we don’t understand of it.